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Article: The Philadelphia Inquirer Consumer Watch Column.
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
- Article date:
- October 9, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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By Jeff Gelles, The Philadelphia Inquirer Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Oct. 9--Getting a prescription was once as familiar as opening your mouth and saying, "Ahhhh." Now it's much more complicated.
For one thing, with all the expensive new drugs on the market, it's often hard to weigh the costs against the benefits.
Sure, some new drugs are breakthroughs that allow people to lead longer, healthier, more productive lives. But some are lesser advances, or "me-too drugs," which chiefly enable drugmakers to grab market share after a competitor delivered the true advance.
To the extent that we're paying more for better, safer ...